Road-grading and ditching machine.



PATBNTED MAY 12,,1903.

, R. RUSSELL.

ROAD GRADING AND DITCHING MAGHINE.

RICHARD Ru ELL. m H/s n r'r O-RNEYS.

UNITED STATES RIoHARD RUSSELL, F

Patented m 12, 1903.

STEPHEN, MINNESOTA.

ROAD-GRADING AND DI'l'C HING MACHINE.

lEECIFICATION forming part ofiLetters, Patent No. 727,693, dated May 12,1903. Applioation'filed February 6, 1902. Serial No. 92,766. (lilomodel.)

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD RUSSELL, of Stephen, Marshall county,Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Road-Grading and Ditching Machines, of which the following is a specificaarranged and operating conveyor and a scoop,

arranged in connection with said conveyer and adapted to gather up thegravel and mud and water and direct it into said conveyer.

Further, the invention consists in providing means for adjusting saidscoop on the receiving end of said conveyor Further, the inventionconsists in various constructions and combinations, all as hereinafterdescribed, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure1 is a perspective of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a planview of the receiving end of the conveyor, showing the means foradjusting and supporting the scoop thereon.

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the scoop, showing the cutting edge thereof. 7

In the drawings, 2 and 3 represent, respectively, the forward and rearaxles, provided with suitable wheels 4 and 5, whereon the ditching andgrading apparatus is supported. Upon these axles I provide rockers -6and 7, provided with stakes 8 and connected by timbers 9, which restupon'the-rocker 7 at-th'eir rear ends and are provided with the blocks10 at their forward ends,which engage the rocker 6 and prevent backwardmovement of said timbers. Upon the timbers 9 I provide crosstimbers 11,which project beyond the timbers 9 and are provided with posts 12,connected now in gen by rods 13. Beneath the timbers 9-is a shallowtransversely-arranged box 14, open at the ends and substantiallywater-tight. Beneath this box, near each end, are cross-bars 15, thatare connected by chains .16 with windlasses 17, mounted in the posts 12and provided with suitable cranks 18, by means of which. the chainsmaybe wo'und or-unwohnd on the drums of; the windlasses' and theboxraised or lowered. Suitable ratchet devices (not shown) are providedin connection with each Windlass, so that the'box can be locked at anydesiredelevation from the ground.

In use the receiving end of the box will be nearer the ground than theOPPOSllG'BHdilJO facilitate gathering up thejgravel and mud or waterfrom the ditch. The bars 15 are connected at their forward ends bydraft-chains 17 with hooks..18, provided on astub-reach 19, throughtheforward end of which the king-bolt 20 passes. A block 21 is providedbetween the rear end of the reach 19 and the timber 11, above and towhich said timber is secured. The rear axle is'also'pr'ovided with areach 22, that extends forward and is secured in any suitable manner tothe rear timber 11. The conveyor-box and the cross-timbersare thus'securely fastened to the running-gear of the machine and will be heldrigidly, even though subjected to a heavy strain. Near each end'of theconveyer-box I provide shafts 23- and '24, the former being mounted inbars 25, that extend toward the middle of said 'box and are pivotedthereon to permit the shaft 23 to automatically adjust itself to thevolume of'earth or turf that maybe passing in at the receiving end ofthe conveyor-box. I prefer to provide a series of pivot-holes26'in thebars 25, so that the pivotalpoint of said bars may be changed at will.The shafts 23 and 24 are provided with sprockets 27 and 28,respectively, and these are connected by belts 29, between which slatsor blades 30 are arranged. These blades are adapted to sweep over thebottom of the {conveyor-box and gather up and carryalong the gravel,mud, or water that may be therein. The shaft 24 is provided with apinion 31, meshing with a similar pinion 32 on a shaft 33. The shaft 33is provided with a sprocket 34, connected by a belt 35 with a sprocket36 on one of the rear wheels. At

the receiving end of the conveyer-box 1 provide a scoop device 37, thatis provided with a curved wing 38, corresponding substantially to amoldboard, and a cutting point or blade 39, that is removably secured tothe scoop and is provided with a vertical knife 40, that is adapted tocut the turf, roots, or other obstruction in front of the moldboard. Thescoop 37 is provided with a series of holes 41, adapted to receive theordinary plow-bolts, which pass through corresponding holes in thereceiving end of the conveyer. I also provide holes 42 in the bottom ofsaid conveyer, that are adapted to receive said bolts and permit the cutof the scoop or the distance it projects beyond the end of the conveyerto be regulated. The curved wall 38 of the scoop swings inwardly at therear side thereof and meets an extension 43 on the rear wall of theconveyor-box and forms a close joint therewith, and the opposite side ofsaid scoop forms a close joint with the floor of the conveyer-box, sothat when mud or water is gathered up by the scoop it cannot escape, butwill be swept by the blades 30 up over the close floor of the box to itsdischarge end. It is sometimes desirable to elevate or depress the noseof the scoop, and I therefore provide a hand-lever 44 on one of theposts 12 near said scoop and connect said lever by a chain 45 with thebar 15. This lever has the usual latch device for locking it in anydesired position, and by means of the same I am able to tiltthe'conveyer-box and depress the nose of the scoop, so that it will digdeeper into the ditch or other place that it may be working.

In operation the conveyer-box having been adjusted the proper distancefrom the ground, the operator will start the machine, and the scoopdigging into the ditch will gather up the sand or gravel, or if used inwet soil or Weather the mud and Water, and direct it into the receivingend of the conveyer-box, where the sweeper or blades Will gather up thematerial and discharge it onto the road-bed at the opposite side of themachine.

The advantages of this machine lie in its extreme simplicity, ease andconvenience of operation, and comparative inexpensive construction andcost of operation. It can be used in wet as well as dry soil, and hencepossesses great advantages over all other machines heretofore used forthis purpose.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with a wheeled frame, of atransverse conveyor-box suspended beneath the same and having asubstantially Water-tight bottom, conveyor-blades operating over thefloor of said box to sweep the material to the discharge end thereof, ascoop provided on the receiving end of said box and forming asubstantially watertight joint therewith, and means for adjusting thereceiving side of said scoop toward or from said box, for the purposespecified.

2. The combination, with a wheeled frame, of a transverse conveyer-boxsuspended beneath the same and having a substantially water-tightbottom, a conveyer-belt provided with a series of sweeper-blades adaptedto travel over said floor and carry the material thereon to thedischarge end of said box, a

scoop secured to the receiving end of saidv conveyer and forming asubstantially watertight joint therewith, said scoop having acuting edgeat its forward end and a curved plate or moldboard provided on saidscoop in the rear of said cutting edge and forming a close joint withthe rear wall of said box, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 25th day of January,1902.

RICHARD RUSSELL.

In presence of RICHARD PAUL, M. O. NOONAN.

